The Pull List: VE’NAM, BATGIRL, BLACKWOOD, and More

Share:

Greetings, comic book lovers! It’s Wednesday, also known as “The Best Day of the Week,” because it’s New Comic Book Day. This week is a fifth Wednesday, which means fewer books overall, but there’s still plenty of quality stuff hitting comic shops. For you big spenders out there, we also have a complete list of this week’s releases, in case you need to know exactly how many variant covers there are this week.

As usual, we may touch on a plot detail or two below, which means you are officially entering spoiler territory. You’ve been warned, friends!

WEB OF VENOM: VE’NAM #1

Apparently, Venom is pretty dang popular these days. With a movie on the horizon and a red-hot headlining series on the stands, Venom is on the top of many comic book readers’ minds. So, it only makes sense that Marvel would start to pump out some spinoffs, like the wonderfully titled Web of Venom: Ve’Nam #1. You may be expecting this one shot to be one big joke, but it’s not. Not at all. It’s a brutal war story that features a pitch-perfect Nick Fury and a Canadian who is the best there is at what he does. Donny Cates does a bang-up job with this tale and Juanan Ramirez and colorist Felipe Sobreiro deliver the goods on every page. This a damn fun comic, whether you’re obsessed with Venom or not.

BLACKWOOD #4

Blackwood is easily one of best series of 2018. Evan Dorkin, Veronica Fish, and Andy Fish have crafted one of the most engaging, horrifying, bizarre, and wonderful tales we’ve had the pleasure of reading. This final issue sticks the landing, no doubt, and although it ties everything up it leaves you wishing there were more. We want more Blackwood, it’s just too good. Beautifully crafted and expertly told, this series is a high-water mark from creators who have produced some of the best comics in the modern age. Blackwood is nothing short of brilliant and it is not to be missed.

THE NEW WORLD #2

Tradd Moore must be stopped. He’s too good. He sets the bar so freaking high for all other comic books. His linework in The New World is utterly insane, it explodes with a kinetic energy that few (if any) other comic books even come close to matching. This reality-show-meets-Judge-Dredd tale is a lot of fun and action-packed, but it’s Moore who elevates to masterpiece territory. We can’t prove that reading The New World will make you a better person, but we can tell you that it’s very, very likely.

BATGIRL #26

Batgirl has been a consistently solid title from DC ever since it relaunched with its new look and feel. Several different creative teams have worked on the book and they’ve all done stellar work. In a lot of ways, this proves how great of a character Batgirl is, especially with her newly injected youthful energy and playful tone. Sure there are some darker elements in this issue, but Mairghread Scott and Paul Pelletier still make this comic fun, which isn’t something we typically get with the Bat Family. It’s still got all the street-level action and sinister villainy you’d expect, but there’s a thick layer of playfulness that drives the character. If you need a break from the grim and gritty world that Batman usually inhabits, add Batgirl to your pull list. You won’t regret it.

HOUSE AMOK #1

IDW’s Black Crown imprint is currently running with a perfect record. Everything they have released has been great, and this newest series, House Amok, is no different. Like the other books in the line, it’s deeply strange and completely twisted. Christopher Sebela and Shawn McManus give you a false sense of comfort with the first few pages; things are somewhat sweet and cute, and then it all descends into a shared madness involving monsters, ghosts, strange visions, murder, and a family on the edge. The art is gorgeous, the pacing is perfect, and the whole package just gets weirder and weirder on every page. And this is just the first issue, we can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

That’s it for us this week! Let us know what comics you are picking up in the comments below!